Namibia launches national campaign to end learning poverty under AU Initiative

WINDHOEK, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Namibia on Thursday officially launched its national campaign under the African Union (AU)'s transformative End Learning Poverty for All in Africa initiative, reaffirming its commitment to improving foundational literacy and numeracy for all children.

In a keynote address read on her behalf by Prime Minister Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare in Outjo, Kunene Region, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah underscored the urgent need to address the continent's education crisis.

"The fact that millions of African children cannot read or comprehend a simple text by age 10 is deeply concerning," she said, declaring the situation an African emergency and reaffirming Namibia's resolve to ensure every child achieves basic reading and math skills.

"We recognize that despite significant strides in access to education, far too many children are not achieving foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of primary school," she said, pointing to recent assessment data exposing learning gaps, particularly in rural areas, informal settlements, and marginalized communities, as an urgent call to action.

According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture has already taken critical steps, including curriculum reforms, investments in early childhood development, teacher training, and the implementation of tools such as the Early Grade Reading Assessment.

Namibia is particularly focused on ensuring that children receive the best possible start from the earliest years, she said. "These efforts must now be scaled up and accelerated."

Nandi-Ndaitwah reaffirmed Namibia's alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 4, the Continental Education Strategy for Africa, and the AU's Agenda 2063, adding that education lies at the heart of the country's newly launched National Development Plan 6, which recognizes that "there is no greater infrastructure than the human mind."

The president also highlighted the government's substantial financial commitment to the education sector, noting that the ministry has allocated 24.8 billion Namibian dollars (about 1.37 billion U.S. dollars).

Namibia is one of 25 priority countries selected for Phase One of the AU's campaign. Enditem